Final Table Takedown -- Andrew 'fergwrx' Ferguson

Andrew “fergwrx” Ferguson attended the University of Maryland as a marketing and economics major. In 2007, he met tournament star Faraz “the-t0ilet” Jaka and became one of his students, and eventually was backed by him. Later that year, he won the UltimateBet Online Championship main event, which was good for $180,000. Since then, he has cashed in two World Series of Poker events, won the $163 Full Tilt Poker event three times, for a total of $74,000, recently won the PokerStars $100 rebuy event, and also took down a $320 PokerStars no-limit hold’em event for $48,000. Ferguson, 23, currently resides in New York City.

Event: PokerStars Sunday $500 no-limit hold’em tournament
Players in the Event: 967
First Prize: $87,400
Finish: First

Hand No. 1
Stacks: Andrew “fergwrx” Ferguson – 1,175,820 stpauli111 – 1,336,966
Blinds: 10,000-20,000
Antes: 2,000
Players Remaining: 10

Stpauli111 raises from under the gun to 51,000.

Andrew Ferguson: Stpauli111 opens the action for 2.5 times the big blind, and I’m sitting in the small blind with the K 10, but the hand is almost irrelevant, because of how we are seated at the table.

Craig Tapscott: Be more specific.

AF: His stack size is a really good one for me to three-bet and fold to if he four-bets me.

CT: Why?

AF: Because with his stack, if he wants to four-bet me, I know that he’s smart enough to know that he has to commit his entire stack. So, with this being the final-table bubble, I really don’t think he’s going to four-bet me light, regardless of my image. It’s just too risky, and I know that he has the ability to four-bet light. But I really don’t think in this particular situation that he would attempt that move, due to the table dynamics and dramatic payout jumps.

CT: What was the metagame between the two of you up to this point? Had you been hammering on him consistently?

AF: This wasn’t the only time that I had three-bet him light, but it’s really important for me not to three-bet him too often to induce light four-bets. In this instance, I paid very close attention to my image before three-betting him with a marginal hand.

CT: Was he being extremely aggressive on the final-table bubble?

AF: With how often he was opening pots, it was essential to make well-timed steals from him to slow him down. I eventually knocked him out, which helped me to go on to the win. Had I just sat back and waited instead of picking on him and really putting him to several tough decisions, I don’t think it would have been possible to make a comeback from this next hand and win.

CT: Give me a little lesson in stack awareness at the final table, like a breakdown of what different stack sizes should be doing, and when.

AF: Basically, you should always make your decision based on the smallest stack in play. So, 15-20 big blinds would be my ideal range to be looking for three-bet shoves; 20-30 big blinds is generally going to be the time when I have two decisions: open a lot of pots and fold to three-bets, unless I have a proper hand to commit my entire stack. At tight tables, I’m going to open a lot of pots, and also at loose tables that do not three-bet a lot. If there’s a lot of three-betting going on, I will tighten up. And with more than 30 big blinds, I can adjust my ranges for three-betting and four-betting, since 30 big blinds is the absolute minimum I would want to four-bet with, and most good players will know this. To play the way that I was at the final table, it was essential for me to stay about 40 big blinds deep to reduce risk with my three-bet ranges. When there are very deep stacks with more than 56 big blinds, I can choose spots to profitably four-bet and fold to a five-bet.

CT: Good stuff.

Fergwrx reraises to 137,500. Stpauli111 folds. Fergwrx wins the pot.

Key Concepts: Stack-size strategy and having a preflop positional advantage.

Hand No. 2
Stacks: Andrew “fergwrx” Ferguson – 1,145,983 stpauli111 – 952,634 Judius – 730,114
Blinds: 12,500-25,000
Antes: 2,500
Players Remaining: 8

Judius raises to 95,500 from under the gun. Fergwrx calls with the A A.

CT: Were you setting this up, hoping to get squeezed from an aggressive player behind you?

AF: I decided to flat-call with the pocket aces, hoping somebody would shove, with those stack sizes and the amount of money in the pot. This is a play that I will generally make only when regulars who have the ability to squeeze with marginal hands are behind me and yet to act. It worked out beautifully …

Stpauli111 moves all in for 950,134. Judius calls. Fergwrx calls. Judius reveals the 9 9. Stpauli111 flips over the Q Q.

Flop: J 9 5 (pot: 2,685,382)
Turn: 7 (pot: 2,685,382)
River: Q (pot: 2,685,382)

AF: … but it was unfortunate that I lost and was knocked down to about 200,000 in chips. But I kept my head in the game, ignored the reality of the beat I took, and worked my way back.

CT: Wow. I have to give you props, Andrew, for coming back from that horrific beat and winning the event.

AF: Thanks. It’s insanely important not to lose your composure after getting dealt a huge bad beat. You almost always are going to lose most of your stack at some point at a final table. You cannot give up or even get the slightest bit upset, or you will not have any chance of getting back in the game and winning. You have to focus on each situation and figure out how you can get those chips back. I cannot count how many tournaments I have been dealt a huge beat late at the final table and come back to win. Again, just focus on each situation and work with your new stack size.

Key Concepts: Tilt control, and staying focused on the present moment.

Hand No. 3
Stacks: Andrew “fergwrx” Ferguson – 7,364,912 ZEMBALOUIE – 2,305,088
Blinds: 50,000-100,000
Antes: 10,000
Players Remaining: 2

Fergwrx limps in from the button with the 5 5. ZEMBALOUIE raises to 300,000. Fergwrx reraises 7,054,912 and is all in. ZEMBALOUIE calls and reveals the 10 10.

CT: Was this a standard shove with a small pair to his raise?

AF: No. I was upset that I made this play afterward, because ZEMBALOUIE had been typing in the chat that he was tired, and he had asked for a deal several times. The entire heads-up match, I was playing small ball and not really bluffing at all, because he was playing very, very bad heads-up poker.

CT: So, explain a bit further your strategy against an inexperienced player at such a big final table.

AF: Against these types of players, it’s better to play small ball and take their chips post-flop. Also, you should refrain from bluffing too much. I was playing the entire heads-up match pretty much straight up. Mainly, I played pots only when I hit hands. He’s not a good player, so there’s no reason to do any kind of crazy bluffing or crazy metagaming, because he just simply isn’t thinking on that level. So, in a tournament with a structure this slow and with such deep stacks, the best approach is to try to see flops cheaply, since he will allow you to.

Flop: Q 9 3 (pot: 4,610,176)
Turn: 5 (pot: 4,610,176)
River: J (pot: 4,610,176)
Fergwrx wins the pot of 4,610,176.

Key Concepts: Adjusting to your opponent, and recognizing the level of thinking from which your opponent is acting.